Saturday, July 9, 2016

ARC Review: Addicted by Elle Kennedy

Addicted is the second book in the Outlaws series by Elle Kennedy. I hadn't read Claimed (the first book in the series) before starting Addicted and I didn't have any problems understanding this one. This book intrigued me right from the start with this unique world and interesting characters. There was a lot to like here and I didn't want to put it down. Yet there were also some things that I had mixed feelings on, and some of them didn't work for me at all.

In the Outlaws series, the characters live in a post-apocalyptic world where the US has been divided into territories and different factions fight for control. Several groups of the outlaws band together to keep each other as safe as possible and share supplies as well as fight the enforcers and bandits. Jamie and her best friend Lennox were forced to leave their home behind after an attack, and have joined together with Connor Mackenzie's group of outlaws. When he asks them to go on a trip to another outlaw camp to help train soldiers for an upcoming war, Jamie and Lennox head out with Rylan, Pike and Kade. Though Connor doubts the outlaw leader Reese's intentions, he knows that they need to go to try and get answers about what is really happening. But while gone, Jamie and Lennox find themselves unable to fight the feelings that they have always felt for one another yet never explored.

I liked Lennox and Jamie a lot. Lennox was super hot and a really great guy. He was everything you could want in a hero and more. Jamie was great as well and I loved them together. They had so much history and friendship and they had always been super close. Though they had each felt more for one another, they had never acted on it and I found that really interesting. You could tell that things were building and it was bound to explode.

The one thing I will say though is that readers should be aware that there is a lot of sex in this book. Everyone sleeps with everyone, and no one has any problems with that. You will find just about every combination here, including M/F, M/M, and M/F/M. If any of that bothers you, you might want to steer clear of this series. Also if you have issues with the hero and heroine being with other people, you also might want to steer clear of this series as I am not exaggerating when I say that these people sleep around more than I have ever seen in a series before and it is no big deal to any of them. At times that attitude and practice bothered me, as I just didn't understand why they were all so okay with it. Later on they mention being jealous of them with other people, but at the time they had no issue with it and watched each other with other people often.

Overall, I found this world to be complex and interesting and I truly loved how different and unique this series is. But there were times that things did get a but slow and boring and I think that was in part due to how big this cast of characters is. Don't get me wrong I am interested in continuing and seeing where things go, but I wish that at times there wasn't quite so much going on. I also felt like at times there was just too much sex. Elle Kennedy is fantastic at writing scorching hot stories and I love a good sex scene as much as the next girl. But there were times it just felt like that was all that was going on. I will definitely read the next in the series and I can't wait to go back and read the first book as well. But readers should be aware of some of the things I mentioned before reading to decide if this series is right for them. If you are not bothered by multiple partners, tons of sex and combinations of sex and like a good post apocalyptic world, then I would definitely recommend giving this series a shot.